A while ago I wrote the article, “Why Canada Should Consider Joining the US” and thanks to my gradual education about Google Webmaster Tools, I have realized that over time it has accumulated more views or comments than any of my other articles. As a final straw, DC writer augustin just informed me that the article got a fresh response on his innovative polling website, Minguo.info, where I had posted the article as a poll where people could vote on the topic. The comment, the latest well thought out comment to the article, really brought the topic by back in my mind, especially as it relates to current events in Ukraine and beyond. The comment was by Minguo user “arkouzaki” who wrote somewhat poetically:
“I would like to ‘feel’ deeply what is the sense of borders. The territory (as animal), the feeling from out and in (as human body spirit), the question about the house, the garden and the ‘other’… This is for me a very interesting reflection to geopolitics abroad (China, Russia, USA, India, Europe) and the future of our humanity in regard to ‘identity'”
I really appreciate that arkouzaki, and many of the previous commenters on the original article, seem to appreciate what I’m saying: that hidden in this seemingly unimportant topic is something ultimately very important about the existential future of life itself. It seems to me that Canadians today hold one of the few keys to lasting world peace.
As arkouzaki suggested in his comment, questions of borders are philosophically important especially taking into account the implied election reforms inherent in any unification here. Certainly lion prides have borders, as do colonies of bees. The border between human body and human spirit, our homes and nature, or the ‘good fence’ separating our next door neighbor all relate to essential philosophical questions. Was it not the European Enlightenment at its most basic when Jean-Jacques Rousseau declared very truthfully that, “man is born free and everywhere he is in chains”?
Clearly this question of borders has always been central to philosophy of government from the earliest records too. Plato quoted Socrates, “I am not an Athenian or a Greek, but a citizen of the world.” Also, the international nature of the democracy founded in 1776 was clear to those founders with the true spirit of democracy in mind including Thomas Paine, perhaps unparalleled in his ability to capture the spirit of democracy in writing, who said about his own identity, “the world is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion.” Paine supported freedom for African slaves and diplomacy with Native American tribes.
Ukraine and Canada
I think this not simply an issue about the barriers on the highway from Montreal to Buffalo. This is about the barriers on the highway from Montreal to Buenas Aires and the highway from London to Beijing or Johannesburg. It’s about convincing Venezuelans, Ukrainians, Africans, and everyone else that there is a path to lasting peace and prosperity. In places like Ukraine, its about convincing Russia and China that open conflict with the unified democratic world is something to avoid for the time being. Just to add more to the drama here, it seems to me that if the world can delay catastrophe with this very strategy for about 100 years, we should really have reached a point where actual settlement in space is underway. How’s that for the future of life itself? Its not a path to an idealistic utopia but to something actually possible I think. Your thoughts Canada?
Michael Ossipoff says
Realistically, there’s no democratic world community of countries. And, if there are any countries with genuinely democratic governments, they’re small and without power.
I strongly agree with what Thomas Paine said, in the articles’s quote.
Adrian Tawfik says
Thanks for the comment Michael. You and I have discussed this topic a bit before so I know a bit of where you are coming from but I simply argue that while the US is not by any means a perfect government, it is still more of a democracy than you allow, as are the European allies I’m talking about like France, Germany, UK, and down the line. I would argue that we are actually more free than anyone ever really and it shouldn’t be taken for granted how far we come even with the problems we still suffer from. When compared to Russia, I think it is clear there is a difference. If you oppose the political machine of Putin in Russia, you meet the police. Can it really be argued that Americans have to worry about being arrested for political belief? Where are the thousands in jail for supporting the wrong politician? Are opposition candidates assassinated and beaten up? Anyway, whether our community of countries is more democratic than Russia’s is something we may see in Crimea. Putin wanted to setup another Turkmenistan in Ukraine under another Soviet-era puppet called Yanukovich. There is little grey area here in my opinion but I understand that Michael and many others just disagree. Thanks for reading.